Used For

• +**Spending hours typing supplier info into purchase orders** → Auto-imports images, costs, and details directly from suppliers (80% less data entry)
• +**Flying blind on inventory across 20+ stores** → Real-time view of what's selling fast vs. sitting on shelves at each location
• +**Online orders failing because physical store sold the last item** → Syncs inventory instantly so you never oversell
• +Mobile receiving with barcode scanning - staff can update stock from anywhere instead of being chained to a back-office computer
• +Cross-location stock transfers that actually work - move inventory between stores without Excel gymnastics

Best For

• >You're running 3+ stores and your current system can't tell you what's actually in stock where
• >Manual purchase orders are eating 10+ hours of your week importing supplier data
• >Your online store keeps overselling because it doesn't know what's left in your physical locations

Not For

• -Single-location shops or solo operators — you're paying for multi-store complexity you don't need
• -Teams without reliable internet — this is fully cloud-dependent and will lock you out during outages
• -Anyone wanting plug-and-play simplicity — expect 2-4 hours of setup per additional location plus integration testing

Pairs With

• *QuickBooks (where your accounting team lives and needs sales data to flow automatically)
• *Shopify (for your online store that needs to know real inventory levels from physical locations)
• *Xero (alternative accounting sync for teams that aren't married to QuickBooks)
• *Slack (where managers get alerts about low stock and staff complain about mandatory barcode scanning)
• *Mailchimp (for customer email campaigns using purchase data from your POS)
• *Deputy (for staff scheduling since Lightspeed handles sales but not who's working when)

The Catch

• !The real cost isn't the subscription — it's the per-location fees and payment processing add-ons that weren't in your original quote
• !Multi-store setup sounds simple but connecting everything (payments, accounting, eCommerce) takes way longer than the 'quick setup' they promise
• !You'll need someone to become the unofficial Lightspeed admin or pay for ongoing support — this isn't something your part-time cashier can manage

Bottom Line

The rare POS that won't melt down when you have more than one location.